Edmund savage



(No Model.) 1

E. SAVAGE.

OAR COUPLING:

No.395177. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

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N. PETERS. PhnmLilhegnpher, washin mn, D. C.

NITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

EDMUND SAVAGE, OF ALBANY, NEIV YORK.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,177, dated December 25, 1888.

Application filed July 23, 1888. Serial No. 280,707. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND SAVAGE, of the city and county of Albany, in the State of New York, have invented newand useful Im provements in Oar-Couplers, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplers; and the object of my invention is to provide a simple and elfective device for coupling a series of cars together to form a train. This object I attain by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are herein referred to and form part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of the ends of conjoined cars. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of a modified form of my coupling device, to adapt it for coupling with an ordinary link-and-pin coupler; and Fig. 4 is a de tached side elevation of the draw-bar used in said modification.

As represented in the drawings, A is the draw-bar of my coupler, which has at its outer end a hook, B, so arranged by reason of an offset, 0, that the line of draft will be coincident with the center line of said draw-bar. The inner end of the latter is pivoted by a bolt or pin, 1), to the bottom of the body of the car, so that said draw-bar can be moved laterally in one direction, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. In order to effect the coupling and uncoupling of the cars,'for the purpose of giving greater stability to the pin D, it is preferably fitted to pass through a bracket, E, which is securely fastened to the bottom of the body of the car.

I is a slotted hanger that is secured to the bottom of the car, and through which the drawbar A passes for the purpose of preventing the latter from sagging below its proper level.

G is a spring-bracket, .which is secured to the bottom of the car and which is provided with a pendent lug, 1, which forms a stop to prevent the drawbar A from being moved in that direction out of coincidence with the center line of the car. Said bracket is also provided with a socket-block, 2, which receives one end of the spring by which the draw-bar A is pressed back to its normal position.

H is a spiral spring, preferably composed of an inner and an outer coil wound in reversed directions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Said spring is passed endwise through the opening through the socket-block 2, and its inner end, which is preferably provided with a thiinble, 3, is adjusted to bear against the side of the draw-bar A. A bolt, 4, passes through the lug l, drawbar A, spring H, and a washer, 5, at the outer end of the socketblock 2, and a nut, 6, is screwed 011 the belt at to bind said washer against the socket-block, where it will serve as an abutment for the spring H, so that the latter can exert its pressure against the side of the draw-bar A to keep said draw-bar in its normal position.

I is a drum or capstan, to which one end of a chain, 7, is attached, so as to be wound thereon, the opposite end of said chain being attached to the draw-bar A, so that as said chain is wound on the capstan I the hooked end of the draw-bar will be drawn backward, as indicated by the dotted lines on Fig. 1, against the resistance of the spring H. A hand-wheel, 8, or other suitable appliance is attached to the capstan I, for the purpose of rotating the latter, when required. When preferred, a lever or other suitable meanssuch as commonly used for this and other like purposesmay be substituted for the capstan herein shown and described, for the purpose of drawing back the hooked end of the draw bar.

The operation of my car-coupler is as follows: The draw-bars of the cars being in their normal positions that is to say, in the positions that they will be forced into by the springs I-Ithe cars are run together with sufficient force to cause the hooked ends of the draw-bars to swing backward until the two hooks B of the conjoining couplers pass each other, and then the resilience of the springs H force the draw-bars A back to their normal positions to complete the engagement of ,the couplers by the interlocking of the hooks B, as shown in Fig. 1. To uncouple the cars, one of the hooks B is drawn backward, by means of the capstan I, until the shoulders of said hooks are clear from each other, and then the cars can be separated and drawn apart.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which modification is intended for use in conjunction with a link-and-pin coupler,- but which can be used with a coupler like itself, or with one that is substantially the same, the draw-bar A is adapted to receive an endwise movement, so that when it is brought into forcible contact with the draw-head of another car-coupler said draw bar will. be pressed in a longitudinal direction beneath the car to which it is attached, and for that purpose said draw-bar is provided at its inner end with a longitudinallyslotted opening, 9, through which the pivot-pin D passes. A spiral spring, 10, is arrai'iged in said slotted opening, so that its forward end will bear against the foremost end of said opening and its rearward end will bear against the pin D to force passes.

the draw-bar A endwise, so as to project its hook B beyond the end of the car. Said drawbar is also provided with a horizontal slotted opening, 11, which is cut sidewise through the draw-bar and through which the guide-bolt 4 It should be understood that this modified form of my invention admits of another change, in which the pivot-pin D will be secured in the inner end of the draw-bar A; but in such case the slotted opening in the inner end of the draw-bar will be dispensed with, the bracket E being slotted to permit an endwise movement of the drawbar and the spring 10 being arranged to bear against the inner end of said draw-bar. It will readily be seen that in this modification the draw-bar A will be free to move endwise and to swing sidewise on the pin D. The

hook B in this modified form is preferably chambered to receive a link, J, like those commonly used with a link-and-pin coupler, and a pin, 12, passes vertically through said hook to engage with the inner end of said link, whose opposite end, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, engages with the draw-head K of a conjoining car.

WVhen preferred, the slotted hanger F and spring-bracket G may be combined to form one piece by simply forming a bar from the top of the lug l to the top of the socket-block 2, and leaving suificient space between the under side of. said bar and the upper side of the plate of said bracket to allow the drawbar A to move freely in a lateral direction, and when made in this last-described manner the construction will be simplified, but the device will be as effective as when said hanger and bracket are made separately.

I claim as my invention 1. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-bar which consists of a single piece that is pivoted at its inner end directly to the bottom of the car, so as to swing sidewise, and which has at its outer end a hook provided with a lateral shoulder extending across a prolongation of the center line of said drawbar, a spring arranged at right angles to and bearing against the outer side of said drawbar, so as to normally retain the latter in its engagement with a like draw-bar of another coupler, a spring-bracket for holding said spring, and a guide-bolt which passes longitudinally through said spring and laterally through said draw-bar, as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-bar having its inner end pivoted by means of a pivot-pin that engages in a slotted opening, so that its outer end will swing sidewise, the outer end of said draw-bar being provided with a hook having a lateral shoulder which extends across a prolongation of the center line of said draw-bar, the inner end of the latter having the pressure of a spring applied thereto to force said drawbar endwise in an outward direction, a spring arranged at right angles to and bearing against one side of said draw-bar, a springbracket for holding said spring, and a guidebolt which passes longitudinallythrough said spring and transversely through a slotted opening in said draw-bar, as and for the purpose herein specified.

EDMUND SAVAGE.

itnesses:

TM. H. Low, S. B. BREWER. 

